Atrocity
by PRlNCE
Summary: It's an empty world, devoid of life - save for two twins, Ingo and Emmet, who traverse the world trying to survive. They have no memory of why only they have been left alive, and why everything else has been left alone and forgotten. But as smaller lifeforms are being discovered in the plains, the younger twin decides on his purpose - setting out to find someone. Anyone.
1. Chapter 1

**Fandom: **Pokémon, specifically the Subway Masters (Submas).

**Rating**: K.

**Contains: **Some sads and feels, no warnings, mostly conversation.

**AU:** Post-apocalyptic.

**Additional notes**: Short chapter is short, it's more of a prologue actually. English is not my first language and this is my first time writing fanfiction in 5-7 years. There might be errors all over the place. Enjoy!

* * *

"Watch your step!"

His feet shuffled, and for a moment Ingo came very close to losing his purchase completely. The slippery moss was taunting his attempt at regaining his balance, and it would have thrown him off entirely, hadn't his dependable brother Emmet caught him by the hand as he was leaning over the edge of the train's roof. He glanced back over his shoulder to see his brother brightly shooting him a smile.

With a slight pull on his hand, Ingo regained his footing and briefly regarded the ground beneath them.

"Did your mind wander off?" Emmet asked him. "Don't be a klutz!"

"Thank you", he said, and made sure to place care into his steps. He then turned to Emmet with a curious expression. "I would like to know how you found this place. And why is it so special?"

Emmet jovially skipped ahead with his hands behind his back, concentrating on placing his feet on the flat surface so as not to slip on the rounded edges. His white coat was fluttering in the wind, almost becoming swept away entirely since it had only been cast lightly over his shoulders.

"It's not that it's particularly special, really..." he said softly. "I feel a certain connection to this place, because it's not just empty, you know? I can feel the life here!"

"Even if you say that..."

Ingo's face was wrapped in concern. It was much like his cheerful twin to embrace anything positive around him, even if there was nothing to be found. He would find the beautiful things in the most somber of places, and although Ingo was sure he understood well enough how things truly were, there was still purity in him. It just worried him what might happen if Emmet became tainted by the disappointment he was sure to fall victim to. There was, after all, no life to be found in this world.

"Ingo, come on! I just want to show you something, that's alright, isn't it? It's just for today, anyway!"

Emmet moved his hand to stop his coat from flying off, but his black-clad brother placed his hand on the other's shoulder and prevented its takeoff. He allowed a crooked smile to grace his face.

"What you mean to say is, that it is special, but only today?" he asked.

A giggle escaped him as Emmet pulled himself away and walked up to the point where the train stopped. Ingo watched him sit down with his legs hanging over the edge and proceeded to follow him.

The sky was darkening, but only slightly so. It had assumed a bright purple hue which playfully traveled across the horizon and began to burst into a cloud of colours, accompanied by tiny specks of light. The haze rose from the resting place of the moss-covered train and silently danced around the two.

Ingo found himself admiring the overgrown scenery, by seeing it in quite a different light. The colours all around him painted the sky like it were a massive canvas, and it reflected down on the grass all around them. He felt like they were part of the artwork, and it made him feel more at ease than he had been in a long time.

Suddenly his thoughts were interrupted by Emmet, who grabbed him by his arm with both of his gloved hands and smiled widely. "Happy Birthday, Ingo!"

Flustered, Ingo looked away for a moment, but collected himself enough to gently place his hand on Emmet's, squeezing it only a bit.

"Happy Birthday to you, too, Emmet."

"The sunset is really the same no matter where we go. Not only that, but... everything's the same. The atmosphere just screams nothingness somehow." Ingo bewilderedly stared at his brother, confused to hear such word come from him. "But I always like this place. This poor train, it was alive once, you know? Maybe we even met it when it was. It's a shame we can't remember such things, isn't it?"

_Don't speak of the train as if it was a living, breathing creature_, Ingo thought to himself. But he knew that he should leave it alone. Emmet was always so happy - he wondered if perhaps he was like that because he was truly breaking on the inside. It must have been visible in his expression, because Emmet reached up and started pulling at his cheeks.

"Don't look so serious, Ingo", he pleaded with a little smile. "Well, you always look serious, but... I mean extra serious. Don't do that."

"I'm sorry", said Ingo, not knowing what else to add to it.

_You must be lonely._

"... We should get going now, right?" said Emmet after a brief moment of silence.

_You just want to find someone._

"Alright", Ingo replied softly.

_Anyone._

Emmet brushed off the back of his legs as he stood up, and with no hesitation he leaped down the train and safely landed in the tall grass. Ingo watched him without a word before carefully climbing down himself.

As Emmet was about to wander off, he suddenly stopped himself and turned slightly. He had removed his white conductor hat so that his slicked-back, grey hair danced in the wind.

"You don't have to worry, Ingo. I don't need anyone else but you. We'll be alright, won't we?"

Ingo felt a sharp pain pierce his heart but made no attempt at voicing his thoughts.

"Of course we will."

"Hey, Ingo?"

"Yes?"

"How old did we became today?"

"I'm sorry, Emmet... I don't know."

"Oh well... It's alright. Happy Birthday, Ingo!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Fandom: **Pokémon, specifically the Subway Masters (Submas).

**Rating**: K.

**Contains: **Some sads and feels, no warnings, mostly conversation.

**AU:** Post-apocalyptic.

**Additional notes**: English is not my first language and this is my first time writing fanfiction in 5-7 years. There might be errors all over the place. Enjoy!

* * *

The high grass whipped him in the face and he could barely see where he was heading, nor did he put much thought into where he was placing his feet. He had been lucky enough to stay on them considering the way he was bolting through the plains. But he had little else in mind than receiving a response to his cries.

Leaving his black, red-striped coat behind by the cairn where he and his brother had been resting for the night, Ingo desperately fought himself through the vegetation, struggling to catch a glimpse of anything white. He was only wearing his dress shirt and trousers himself, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows in response to the scorching heat.

It was strange. Terrifying. Emmet had never left his company for even a second, not even to wander off to any curiosities he might have discovered. So why had Ingo woken up alone, with only the silence accompanying him? As identical twins, he felt like an important part of him was missing, and that in turn made him even more worried that something might have happened to Emmet. At this point he could only hope to chance upon him, considering the fact that he could have gone anywhere.

Or he could have disappeared.

As Ingo abruptly stopped, so did his heart for a moment.

"Everyone disappeared, one way or another... We can still disappear as well, can we not?" he murmured to himself.

He clenched his fists, bit down hard on his lower lip in order to stop quivering. This was utterly ridiculous. What had happened to the realist, the one who only served rational thoughts? "Disappear?" How would people go about simply doing that into thin air, with no explanation?

Ingo somberly let his gaze travel upwards. The sky never forgot its perpetual blue. It would fade from time to time but it would always come back.

_Then how can I explain why things do appear to have simply vanished? I cannot_.

A yelp managed to escape his mouth before his hand flew up to cover it, as the grass before him suddenly parted and Emmet poked his head out of it.

"Oh...! Ingo, it was just you..." he said, pouting.

Ingo wasn't sure how he was supposed to react. He was convinced something horrible has transpired, and suddenly, as soon as he saw his brother's familiar face, it was as if everything had returned to normal and there was balance again. Despite all the thoughts which had just now been aching and eating away at the innermost parts of his mind. As if he was the one who would become unstable with the other not being around. Emmet was the one in need of protection, the other way around was simply absurd!

"What do you mean, 'oh', I was looking all over for you!" Ingo exclaimed after collecting himself. "... Don't you sound disappointed, by the way."

"I thought I heard someone, so I got all excited, then it was just you", Emmet said cheerfully, treading out of the grass and leaping into Ingo's arms.

_"Just you", you say, and then you hug me._

Ingo found himself struck with tremendous relief, but he didn't allow himself to acknowledge the embrace. Sternly, he grabbed a clueless-looking Emmet by his shoulders and looked him in the eyes. Emmet tilted his head slightly, his smile fading a bit but still being present.

"Please do not wander off again", said Ingo. "I demand an explanation, Emmet. I doubt you just took a stroll and then forgot you're not supposed to walk around on your own."

Emmet turned his head to the side and crossed his arms, his eyes evasive.

"I'm sorry, Ingo. I honestly didn't mean it", he said.

A faint sigh escaped Ingo as he slowly moved his hand and placed his index finger gently under Emmet's chin, silently asking his brother to face him. When he did, he caught a glimpse of the sudden excitement in Emmet's eyes and dropped his hand.

"I did find something. That's why I left. I wasn't planning on going so far, but you see, this something was moving."

Ingo raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"Plenty of things move."

"I bet you wouldn't have guessed it moved all the way from the cairn to here. Ingo, I saw a snake - a live snake!"

A quite exhausted-looking Ingo bewilderedly scratched the back of his head, not knowing what to think of the way Emmet's face just lit up talking about such a thing.

"Well, good for the snake, I suppose", he murmured.

"No, you don't get it! It's alive, there might be lots of other things alive, too! Like humans!" As he said this, one very fired-up Emmet grabbed Ingo's hands in his, hoping for him to share in his excitement over this discovery.

"But, Emmet... We are also alive. Wouldn't you find that to be more solid proof than a little snake?"

"It's not that... It's just that we've been alone for so long now, I thought we were truly the only ones... But seeing just a tiny bit of life like this made me feel more... at ease, you know?"

_So that's what it was_. Ingo's shoulders plummeted and he allowed himself a sigh of relief.

"I'm happy for your discovery, Emmet. But let us go back, and don't wander off again, do you hear me?"

Pretending he didn't see the finger Ingo was dominantly waving in front of him, Emmet skipped ahead, content and not quite listening to his brother's warnings to keep close to him.

"Do you think if we go to all sorts of places, that we'll find lots of people?" Emmet asked curiously as he turned around to face Ingo while walking.

"Are you saying we should traverse across the entire world, not even knowing where to look?" Ingo countered, walking past Emmet while adjusting his upper shirt buttons.

Emmet looked after him, frustrated.

"What's wrong with that? What else have we been doing?" He quickly moved ahead of Ingo in order to look him in the eyes when he spoke. "Is there some other purpose you have in mind?"

They stopped, and there was silence for a brief moment. Emmet watched him, unwavering where he stood, waiting for a response. But Ingo wasn't sure what to say. He didn't want to think of a purpose to their existence in this void, because it would all be pointless. There was nothing they could hope to attain, and reaching for things they didn't even have any knowledge of wasn't something he was prepared to spend the rest of his life doing. Thinking of an aspiration of some sort... it was distracting indeed, and would only serve to disappoint. But that's because Ingo already had a purpose.

Emmet stared at him adamantly - but his expression quickly broke into perplexity when Ingo's hand advanced to his face and gently touched his cheek, the fingers lightly brushing against his hair.

"No", Ingo said with a hint of a smile on his face. "No, there is not."

"You mean...?"

"Of course I do. I go wherever you go, that's the entire point."

Everything was right when that delighted smile found its way to Emmet's bright face. He turned and skipped off in anticipation, and Ingo followed at his own pace. Yes, everything was right, because he already had a purpose.

As long as Emmet was safe.

As long as Emmet was happy.

As long as Emmet could live.

Loving life as he did, bursting with freedom and embracing everything around him, Emmet was his purpose. So at that time, when Ingo found himself always watching his brother's back happily walking off in the distance, he also found himself not caring what they would do or where they would go.

_I'll go the distance for my one true purpose._


	3. Chapter 3

**Note**: **THE SONG CAN BE FOUND HERE. Written and performed by me.**

**Fandom**: Pokémon, specifically the Subway Masters (Submas).

**Rating**: K.

**Contains**: Some sads and feels, no warnings, mostly conversation.

**AU**: Post-apocalyptic.

**Additional notes**: WHY ARE MY CHAPTERS SO SHORT oh well, it covered what I wanted to write. English is not my first language and this is my first time writing fanfiction in 5-7 years. There might be errors all over the place. Enjoy!

* * *

_Sometimes I wish this time will never end. Then I remember it never will._

His eyes opened so quickly, adapting to the sunlight proved near impossible. Emmet swiftly sat up and rubbed his worn out eyes with both of his gloved hands. Then as he felt a slight sting in his left eye, he squinted only to notice that he really was quite dirty. He didn't pay it much thought, however, and wiped the dirt from his hands off on his clothes. Not that it would help, but it made him feel better about it.

The sun was out, its soft but harsh rays blinding him instantly if he tried to glance up at the sky. He found himself wondering what time of the day it could be, and why they had slept for so long. As he turned to his side, his hand brushed against his brother's and he realized how closely they had been lying. He found it humorous to some extent, to see Ingo crawl closer to him each night looking for warmth, and most likely he hardly noticed it himself.

Emmet quietly reached out a hand and playfully ruffled Ingo's hair. His gaze lingered on his face, which was solemn even in sleep. This made him break out into a giggle, but it didn't wake his brother.

"I promised not to wander off, so I won't", he said, even though he knew Ingo wouldn't hear him. "But honestly, you worry too much."

As he said this, his posture shrank, and his eyes slowly wandered down towards his knees.

_You might think you're worrying for the both of us, my dear brother._

_But I..._

_I wish it was easier to say... but if I do, I might find myself lost in my own words. In the realization that I might be right. Will I then lose any focus I had before?_

Disregarding Ingo's attempts at reaching him in his sleep, Emmet got up on his feet, leaving his hat and coat on the ground beside Ingo, who silently clutched at them. He walked off to the hill overlooking the plains, sun at his back, shutting his eyes in order to feel the gentle breeze play with his neck hairs, only to make a sudden increase in its advancement. Countless leaves were leaving the ground and saluting the air with their fluttering movements, and as Emmet opened his eyes to see this, his chest moved outward with his deep inhale, and his lips initiated a soft movement.

_Fly by me_

_Won't you please_

_fly by me_

_I might not be able to soar,_

_but it's not my fault_

_It's these broken wings_

_amongst so many_

_other things_

_that I have discarded_

_for reasons unknown to me_

_Make a gesture to me_

_Just please let me know_

_Am I even here to begin with?_

_Or am I just a figment_

_of my own imagination,_

_a storm above a wasteland_

_a cry without a breath or_

_am I_

_Am I even alive to begin with?_

_What if I_

_am already dead?_

The following silence was truly excruciating. The wind suddenly stopped as if providing a response to his song, but it too was silent.

As his breath escaped him, Emmet grasped at his chest and fell to his knees. He wasn't so much in pain, as overwhelmed by his own feelings and the way they had been voiced. Trying to stop his heart from beating so fast, he kept his hand resting on his chest as he forced himself to stand again. He turned to leave the cliff, expecting to be met with a sleeping Ingo's heavy breathing. But as he took his first step, he found himself unable to move, his heart stopping in his throat.

"Ingo..." he said under his breath.

His black coat folded once and hanging over his arm, conductor hat in his other hand, Ingo's appearance made itself present. Something glistened for a moment, and Emmet could discern tears running down his brother's cheeks, without any effort on his part to try and repress them.

There they stood for an unspoken amount of time, until Ingo suddenly opened his mouth to speak - and he would have, had Emmet not thrown himself at him, both of them collapsing onto the ground.

"Don't say anything!" Emmet pleaded into Ingo's shoulder. "I'm sorry for making you cry, Ingo! It was just a stupid tune, don't think about it, please!"

Ingo didn't know what to say. He could feel Emmet's uncertainty beating through his chest, and how powerfully overcome it had made him - and also how hard he tried to hide it. It would be best not to speak at all, but then what could he do for Emmet? How could he give him what he needed the most right now? A simple pat on the back seemed ridiculously small.

So he simply hushed him. Slowly ran his hand through his hair and remained on the ground, calming him.

"You sing beautifully", he mumbled.

"No I don't", said Emmet faintly.

"... Are you falling asleep on me?"

Emmet pushed himself up to his feet without a response, then offered a hand to Ingo, who was confused for a moment but took it without question, dragging himself up. Emmet then turned around, stretched his arms behind his back and looked over his shoulder with a brighter smile than usual.

"Let's go, shall we? We have people to find!"

_I might not be able to soar,_

_but you might fix these broken wings._


End file.
